Where does “eyewitness” come from?
Eyewitness comes from Middle English eyewitnes, from Old English witnes, from Proto-Germanic augô and an agent noun formation, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots relating to seeing and perception.
eyewitness (English): Someone who sees an event and can report or...
Definitions
- Someone who sees an event and can report or...
Ancestry of “eyewitness”, step by step
eyewitness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Witness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Witness | Jehovah's Witness |
| 2 | English | -ness | Appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the... |
| 3 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 4 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |
via English Eye
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Eye | A place name |
| 2 | English | -some | Characterized by some specific condition or... |
| 3 | Middle English | -som | some; having a specific quality |
| 4 | Old English | sum | some |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sum | some |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sumaz | some (one), a certain (one) |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |